The Formation of the Lodge

For a new Lodge to be formed, application in the form of a petition must be made to Grand Lodge. To every petition must be added a recommendation signed in open Lodge by the Master and Wardens of a regular Lodge and with the approval of the majority of the Brethren then present.

Further, the petition must have at least seven signatories. Each must state the Lodge in which they were initiated, all other Lodges they belong to or have belonged to and produce documentation showing they are not in debt to any of those Lodges.

The form of the petition is of a set format and states the reason for the proposed formation of a new Lodge along with the names of those to be the first Master, Senior and Junior Wardens.

For a fuller explanation see The book of Constitutions, rules 94-98

The Petition

On the 12th October 1927 at a meeting of the Amherst Lodge, No 1223, the application in the form of a Petition was made following the procedure above.
The petition contained 23 names. Frederick David Ibbett was named as the first Master, Richard Joseph Sadlier to be the first Senior Warden and Alfred John Locke as the first Junior Warden. W. Bro. Ibbett had been Master of The Knole Lodge No 1414 and W.Bro Sadlier Master of The Panmure Lodge No 720. Bro Locke was a member of Surbiton Lodge No 2146.

The reasons given for the proposed Lodge were:- a) a number of Brethren living in the area wished for a more local Lodge. b) several Brethren had moved to the area and were not attached to a local Lodge. c) several Master Masons wanted to take office. d) men of good standing in the neighbourhood would join a local Lodge.